B1 · Pronouns
Two pronouns in the same sentence
Person first, thing second — and le becomes se.
When a dative and an accusative pronoun stand together, the person comes first and the thing second: Me lo dio. The order is fixed and cannot be swapped. English does the reverse — «he gave it to me» — so the habit has to be rebuilt rather than transferred.
When le or les meets lo, la, los, las, the le becomes se: not «le lo di» but Se lo di. This has nothing to do with the reflexive se; it is a pure pronunciation rule that grew up centuries ago.
Because se is then ambiguous — to him, to her, to them, to you — an a él, a ella or a name often comes with it: Se lo di a Marta.
Die Form
| person + thing | Me lo explicó. |
| to you + it | Te la doy mañana. |
| to him/her + it | Se lo dije. |
| attached | Voy a dárselo. |
| on the gerund | Está explicándomelo. |
| with the imperative | Dámelo. |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
The person stands before the thing.
Nos lo contó todo.He told us everything.
le and les become se before lo, la, los, las.
Se los mandé ayer.I sent them to him yesterday.
Both together attach to an infinitive, a gerund and an affirmative imperative — never split.
Quiero decírtelo ahora.I want to tell you now.
Attaching brings an accent, so the stress stays put.
Explícamelo otra vez.Explain it to me again.
Woran man es erkennt
- me lo
- te la
- se lo
- nos los
- dármelo
Beispielsätze
¿Me lo puedes explicar?Can you explain it to me?
Se lo diré esta tarde.I will tell him this afternoon.
Te las devuelvo el lunes.I will give them back to you on Monday.
No nos lo dijeron.They did not tell us.
Noch 6 Beispielsätze
¿Se lo has contado a alguien?Have you told anybody about it?
Préstamelo un momento.Lend it to me for a moment.
Nos las trajeron rotas.They brought them to us broken.
Voy a comprártelo.I am going to buy it for you.
Se lo agradezco mucho.I am very grateful to you for it.
No te lo puedo decir todavía.I cannot tell you yet.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
The two le words get left as they are: Le lo di. That sequence does not exist in Spanish; it always becomes Se lo di. The mistake stands out at once when spoken, because no native speaker has ever heard «le lo».
Person before thing — and before lo, la, los, las, le becomes se.
Jetzt selbst
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